Audi A4 Allroad long-term test
These days, it can feel like every other car is an SUV, but the A4 Allroad is a more distinctive choice that promises many of the same strengths. We've added one to our long-term fleet to see if...
- The car Audi A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI 218 quattro Sport
- Run by Alan Taylor-Jones, new cars editor
- Why it’s here To see if a practical family holdall with moderate off-road ability can mean something other than an SUV
- Needs to Provide good long-distance comfort and SUV versatility, while being refined, comfortable and frugal
Price £42,945 Price as tested £52,805 Miles 9233 Official economy 55.4mpg Test economy 40.1mpg Options fitted Technology Pack (£1395), Parking Assistance Pack (£1350), Comfort and Sound Pack (£1295), electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory (£950), damping control (£900), folding towbar (£850), 19in alloy wheels (£750), front sports seats in Milano leather (£750), matrix LED headlights (£650), Quantum Grey solid paint (£645), folding door mirrors with auto-dimming and memory function (£325)
5 December 2018 – mirror, signal, manoeuvre...
As the newest member of the road test team, I’ve had to visit What Car? HQ in Twickenham a couple of times to sort out formalities like HR forms, computer inductions and learning how to lift things – which means parking in the town-centre multi-storey car park for the afternoon.
While it’s a tight carpark as it is, in the Audi A4 Allroad it felt like trying to get the Titanic up a flight of stairs. Sure, its 11.6-metre turning circle is pretty average for the class, but the expansive rear wallowed behind, while the overdramatic parking sensors screamed continually whether you were one or ten centimetres away from a kerbed wheel (or three). The laggy automatic gearbox also made it jump both in forward and reverse gears.
Thankfully the road-tester car park at our satellite office is much more suited to the Allroad – alongside the Ferraris and Aston Martins that sometimes frequent it, too…
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